


Time to Relax

by InkstainedGwyn



Category: Persona 4
Genre: AU, Happy Birthday, Just a bit of fun, M/M, izanagi and jiraiya, souji and yosuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 10:57:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkstainedGwyn/pseuds/InkstainedGwyn
Summary: Just a short, short story in the future, back at the Amagi inn. The boys aren't the only ones who enjoy the hot springs!





	Time to Relax

**Author's Note:**

> This is a birthday story for my dear friend [tasogarenohane](https://tasogarenohane.tumblr.com/), whose shadow art has always intrigued me. I love how sassy and sexy they are!

“Stop _jostling_ me, do you _want_ to get caught?” The brunette figure climbing out of the TV paused to grimace at the silver-haired figure behind him, who promptly shoved him so that he had to teeter on his front foot to avoid losing his balance. 

“Caught? _Honestly_. As if anybody here can see us.” The wind outside was strong and as clouds covered the moon for a moment, the whole room was bathed in darkness, absorbing the shadow climbing out of the TV so that nothing was visible beyond two sets of golden eyes. “Maybe three people here can, and it’s after midnight. They’re all asleep. Which is a shame.” He smirked. “I was looking forward to giving them a show.”

Then the moon was out again, and the pair of golden eyes ringed by elegant, bright red wings crinkled as Izanagi laughed. “I know you’re looking forward to getting me into the bath, Jiraiya, but we’ve got all night.” Reaching out, he stroked the brunette’s cheek.

“ _Fine_.” The brunette mimed a bite at Izanagi’s fingers, but it was clear that it was good-natured as they headed out of the room and down the hallway. Two of the inn workers, looking hurried but laughing as they went, passed the shadows; neither batted an eye in their direction, proving his point, even though Izanagi was dressed in his usual half-top and Jiraiya looked like an older-than-third-year student in his Yasogami uniform. (Sure, he could have changed it by now, but why should he? It was comfortable, and Izanagi liked taking it off. Just like he liked snapping that little red string on Izanagi’s shirt, and-)

With Jiraiya lost in thought it was up to Izanagi to grab his wrist and pull him aside when they got to the baths. This turned into a friendly tussle next to the spring - why worry about the dressing room when it was this late and nobody could see them anyway? - but soon enough Izanagi slid into the neck-deep hot water with a sigh of contentment. 

There was a splash beside him as Jiraiya climbed in, and after a moment the brunette snaked an arm around Izanagi’s waist, drawing him close. With a small, purring hum of happiness, Izanagi snuggled up to Jiraiya’s side.

“Now, see, isn’t this nice? Much nicer than hanging around being bored again. It’s not like we get to come out here very often.”

“Yes yes.” There was a smile on Jiraiya’s face, though his eyes were closed as he relaxed into the corner of the tub. “You were right.”

“I’m always right.” 

Jiraiya just grumbled, and instead of responding, he pulled Izanagi into a kiss. There were better and more interesting ways to shut his partner up than to just agree with him, after all.

* * *

Souji wasn’t sure what woke him up, but looking around the dark room at the Amagi Inn, he thought back to all of the times they’d spent the night here back when they were young. Next to him, Yosuke mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over; Souji just smiled affectionately.

 _More things have changed since then than just our age_.

It was after midnight, but he wasn’t feeling particularly sleepy, so he pushed the covers back - Yosuke had just limpeted around his own pillow, so Souji didn’t have to extract himself, a rare occurrence - and padded in to use the bathroom. Looking at himself in the mirror after washing his face, he decided to head down to the baths to soak for a bit. A half-hour would be nice, and he knew the times by now well enough to know that it _was_ the guys’ turn for the bath. Unlike a decade earlier.

Chuckling over the memories, Souji slipped out of the room, wrapping his robe a bit more tightly about his waist; it was just a short walk down the hall. Entering the dressing room, he was just looking around for the fresh towels when movement from the bath caught his eye. Curious as to who it might be - he’d left Yosuke asleep and there weren’t many visitors this time of the year - he stepped into the bathing area only to stop in shock.

 _I’m dreaming_.

It was a tempting thought, since he’d already been daydreaming about the past, but when his shadow - draped across Yosuke’s? chest (Jiraiya’s, It had to be) - opened one eye and smirked at him, he knew he wasn’t making it up.

For a moment, host and shadow stared at one other, and finally Izanagi broke the impasse with another smirk, leaning down to slowly kiss Jiraiya’s collarbone, running his lips along it in an embarrassingly familiar gesture. Although he really shouldn’t, Souji found himself feeling like he was intruding on something private, and as Jiraiya - looking quite pleased - raised his head, Souji decided to backtrack out of the baths and head back to their room. He could come back later.

As he hurried down the hall, a quiet chuckle sounded in his head. 

_You can’t tell me you can’t think of something more interesting to do, anyway._

Maybe he _was_ dreaming, maybe he’d just hallucinated. More likely, it really was Izanagi, and… well, if so, it was _good_ to see him again, in a way. Good to know the shadows were doing okay. Good to know they were happy - it must mean he and Yosuke were doing things right.

Why they were here, though, well...

 ** _Why_** _doesn’t really matter, does it?_ Souji smiled to himself, thinking about the blissful expressions on the shadows’ faces. _What matters is that Izanagi made a very good point_. Climbing back into the futon, he found that Yosuke had rolled backwards towards his pillow; sliding under the covers next to him, Souji wrapped his arms around the brunette’s waist, leaning in to press kisses along the back of his partner's neck. As Yosuke snuggled backward and his hand closed behind him on his husband’s knee, Souji smiled to himself.

 _It’s a holiday. We deserve to enjoy ourselves. And it’s not like he hasn’t woken me up in the middle of the night before… turnabout is fair play_.

Not that Yosuke, who was already blinking slowly awake with a smile on his face, was complaining.


End file.
